“RECOMMEND A QUALIFIED PERSON FOR ACTING VC” – FG TO OAU SENATE

Following the directive of the Federal government to the Senate of Obafemi Awolowo University, lle- Ife,Osun State to immediately recommend a qualified person for approval as the Acting Vice Chancellor of the University. The university workers have commended President Muhammadu Buhari for making the pronouncemeNT

We gathered that the President Buhari reportedly issued a letter, addressed to the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, NUC, directing the University Senate not to consider any of the candidates who earlier contested for the position.

In the letter, the FG further ordered the Senate of the university to take immediate steps to implement the directive of the President and report back to the Federal Ministry of Education.

Reacting to the directive, the embattled Chairman of the OAU branch of Non-Academic Staff of Universities, Comrade Oluwole Odewunmi, in a telephone chat with our correspondent on Monday hailed the move by the Federal Government. According to Odewunmi, “the directive by President Buhari is a right step. We hope the Senate would meet soon and do the right thing. All we are fighting for is for justice to prevail.

“We want to state that Prof. Ayobami Salami is not fit and qualified to call the Senate meeting and neither is the School Registrar, Dotun Awoyemi fit to be the Secretary of the Senate because he is compromised and biased. Both Salami and Awoyemi can manipulate the process and we won’t want that to happen,” Odewunmi said.

Impeccable sources in the university told our reporters that members of the Senate would be meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday to deliberate on the appointment of the Acting VC that would administer the university pending the appointment of a substantive VC.

On the crisis between OAU NASU and its national body, Odewunmi noted that the actions of the national executives in the past have shown that the body no longer wants its OAU branch, saying that the branch could survive without its headquarters.

It could be recalled that the National Headquarters of the NASU had in a letter dated June 21, 2016 dissolved its OAU Branch Committee for embarking on a protest against the appointment of a new vice chancellor for the institution.

In the letter referenced NASU/UV/5/Vol.‎XVII/102 and signed by NASU National General Secretary, Mr. Peters Adeyemi‎, executives of the OAU branch were accused of disobedience to the constitution of the union. The letter further directed the union’s executives at OAU to hand-over all NASU properties in their care.

But in an attempt to take over assets in the custody of the dissolved executives of OAU NASU, national officials of the body were on Friday evening beaten to stupor by irate workers of the university.

Odewunmi said: “They (National headquarters of NASU) don’t need us anymore. Ever since we have been in the union, it is not as if they have done any good thing for us in our branch. So, we will survive without them. With God, all things are possible. When asked if they have formed a new name since they are no longer under NASU, Odewunmi said: we have not formed a new name yet. We will do that if that is what will solve this problem.”

Workers and students of the institution recently trooped out in jubilation following the dissolution of the school’s governing council and the suspension of the selection of the vice chancellor by the federal government. According to the staff and students of the University, the Federal Government’s decision was a step towards the redemption and integrity of the institution, which for weeks had been hit by crisis after the exit of the immediate past Vice Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole.

Meanwhile, the National General Secretary of NASU, Mr. Peters Adeyemi had accused the OAU workers of referring to themselves as “Integrity Workers Union.”